4,000
Approximate number of
artificial satellites in orbit,
NASA says – only 1,400 are operational
Diamond skies
Nano-satellites exemplify accessibility
in space-based business solutions
S
America, Central Africa, and Southeast
Asia. This network will deliver affordable
communications services for businesses
operating in this region, and for people
living in remote locations.
Founded by three veterans of the
Israeli space industry, SSG is a small
start-up company registered in Britain.
Following the launch of the initial three-
satellite pilot constellation, the company
is planning to launch a huge network of
200 nano-satellites to achieve full
coverage of the equatorial belt by 2020.
Communications bandwidth capacity
provided by these satellites has been
pre-sold to Sat-Space Africa and Globalsat
Group in Latin America.
pace-based business solutions
are rocketing into the world
of accessibility with companies
such as Sky and Space Global
Ltd (SSG) successfully
launching its 3 Diamonds nano-
satellites on 23 June 2017.
Built by Gomspace from Denmark,
a company offering space-based business
solutions including IOT, communication,
tracking, surveillance and remote sensing,
the 3 Diamonds were launched aboard the
expendable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV) from the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) launch site at the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre in
Sriharikota, India.
The 3 Diamonds are the first nano-
satellites to be used to construct a
proprietary communications network
in the equatorial belt, covering South
L aunch and Deployment
The launch is also a key milestone for SSG
as a business, which has been engaged in
months of preparation ahead of takeoff.
With its sophisticated nano-satellite
technology and satellite network
management software, the Company
aims to disrupt the telecoms industry
by delivering affordable satellite
communications services in remote
locations. The 3 Diamonds launch is
expected to have a big impact on the
company commercially, generating
profit and helping to secure new
commercial agreements.
Now that the 3 Diamonds have been
successfully deployed into space, they
will embark on an eight-week journey
of In-Orbit Tests (IOT) to validate full
functionality and performance of all
subsystems, including communications
payload. Following this, the pilot
constellation will go live and
commence revenue generation for SSG.
Telesat Canada
launched Anik A1,
the first domestic
communications
satellite to distribute
video programming
COMSAT launched
Marisat, the first mobile
communications
satellite, to provide
mobile services to
the US Navy
AT&T’s Telstar 1, the
world’s first active
communications
satellite, was launched.
It was closely followed
by NASA’s Relay
The USSR launches
Sputnik 1, the first
artificial earth satellite,
a 58cm diameter metal
sphere. Its four antennas
broadcast radio pulses
A brief history of comms satellites
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